• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • 1
    CommentGo Back
Download
 
Sunny Greetings from the Gadhias
Satish JohnPosted: Tue, Apr 21 2009. 6:39 PM ISTDeepak Gadhia, a specialist in energy conservation and management, his wife, a Malaysianof Indian origin, had a doctorate in genetic engineering. With his experience, Deepakplanned to start energy conservation projects in India, while Shirin decided to set up a not-for-profit organization focused on the environment.Mr. Deepak Gadhia (In the Center) demonstrating the Scheffler Technology to the trainees.Prof. Ajay Chandak on left.
This Steam cooking system atShirdicooks 6000 meals per day.
Shirin, 56 now, and three years older than Deepak, had begun running the Eco CenterICNEER (International Center for Networking, Ecology, Education and Re-integration) inValsad and Vadodara. She was trying to convince women from villages near Valsad to stopusing firewood for cooking, but there weren’t any easy alternatives. For a poor villager touse the more expensive gas for cooking was easier said than done.That’s when Shirin approached her husband for help. Deepak’s friends in Germany wereworking on solar energy equipment and were willing to share the technology free. Thetechnology for parabolic solar cookers came from his former colleague at Wacker Chemie,Dieter Seifert, who had invented the SK 14 solar cooker.With loans from friends and family as well as some of their own money, they floated GadhiaSolar Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. Deepak focused on manufacturing the solar cookers, andShirin created awareness for the product among the villagers.Their solar cookers cost Rs6,500 each, but were effective and cheaper than other cleanalternatives over the long term. The cookers caught on and states such as Andhra Pradesh
 
encouraged the Gadhias to develop a concept of “smokeless” villages.He has installed solar-powered community kitchens for the Indian Army in places such asLeh. Even temple trusts have converted to solar-powered kitchens. His solar steam cookingsystem feeds the thousands of devotees at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.
This month, Deepak’s company installed the world’s largest solar steam cookingsystem in the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Maharashtra, with capacity to cook mealsfor 40,000 people a day. The system is being tested and will be operational in afew weeks. 
Deepak says solar-powered systems should be made affordable so even poor villagers canbuy them, and finds efforts by micro-finance companies to fund solar cookers heartening.Recognition for his work has started pouring in. The husband-wife duo recently received thesolar entrepreneurship Bluesky Top Ten Technology award in China. Gadhia Solar gotfunding a couple of years ago, when the Gadhias sold 50% stake in the firm to Zero Energyof UK, which is registered in Cypress, for Rs2.15 crore. And as more institutions and villagestook to solar energy, Gadhia Solar’s revenue rose to Rs7 crore in 2008-09 from Rs2 crorethe previous year.
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parabolic Type Concentrating Solar Steam Cooking System
http://www.mahaurja.com/SP_MassCooking.htmlThe solar steam cooking system installed at Shirdi has 40 parabolic concentrators / dishes(called Scheffler dishes after its inventor) placed on the terrace of Sai Prasad Building No.2.A parabolic type concentrating solar steam cooking system was commissioned at ShriSaibaba Sansthan, Shirdi on 24th May, 2002. This system received financial assistance of 50% of the total project cost from the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, GoI. Thisis the first of its kind in Maharashtra. It cooks food for about 3000 devotees.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
Ramnath Pawar

I want to study on Parabolic Type Concentrating Solar Steam Cooking System at shirdi

reply04 / 02 / 2012
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...